


Idiotic Reveal Collection

by Magyar45456



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cheerleaders, Episode: s03 Poupeflekta | Reflekdoll, F/F, F/M, Identity Reveal, M/M, Oneshot collection, Sleep Deprivation, several - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26058451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magyar45456/pseuds/Magyar45456
Summary: All the stupid, idiotic, nonsense ways that the Identity Reveal could go down. It's a surprise it hasn't happened before. This idea is from the nathmarc discord I'm in https://discord.gg/M9BWvKY. Come on down if you want.If you have suggestions, share them in the comments!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Comments: 26
Kudos: 149
Collections: Miraculous Ladybug and Cat/Chat Noir Reveal





	1. Cheerleading

The morning bell rang at Collège Françoise Dupont, and as usual, Marinette ran inside the classroom just as the bell rang, and stumbled into her seat, somehow managing to remain on her feet.

“Alright, class.” Mms. Bustier announced as Marinette was seated. “Today we’re going to do something special. In two weeks, we’re going to have a sports showcase.”

“Yeah!” Kim yelled out from his seat. 

“Anyway, there’s going to have to be a unanimous agreement on what we’re doing, so that everyone is happy!” She continued, ignoring the fact that most of the class was groaning. She got fifteen small pieces of paper, and passed them out.

She didn’t know what she was expecting. Fifteen people in the class, fifteen different “sports.” Although some of these weren’t really sports. “Looking fashionable”, “Telling stories of your adventures”, something written over to the point where she couldn’t tell what it said. In the end, she managed to get eight things that at least resembled sports in some way, and she wrote them down in a list.

Fencing

Football

Swimming

Mecha Strike

Skating

Running

Wrestling

Cheerleading

“These are the eight options you can choose from. I’d like you all to have a debate on these options, and then choose to remove one option every time until there’s only one option left.” She said. 

“I think we should get rid of Mecha Strike first.” Chloe spoke up. “It’s not a  _ real _ sport, it’s just a video game.”

“Hey!” Marinette, of all people yelled out. “Mecha Strike is considered an e-sport! There’s tournaments and everything.”

“I think Kim’s the only person here that likes swimming, we should get rid of that one first.” Alix spoke up.

“What about Skating? I think you’re the only one that likes that.” Kim said a bit louder. “What do all of you think?”

“I don’t like any of those options.” Nathaniel muttered, continuing his drawings.

“Football is the most popular sport in France, so everyone knows how to play.” Nino said.

“Juleka, you’d look good as a cheerleader!” Rose exclaimed, causing the girl in question to blush and shy away. “I don’t think so.” She replied. “I’m just not the type of person to do that sort of thing.”

“Well, obviously I’m good at any of the eight sports on that list.” Lila said. “But I don’t really like running, I have weak ankles making running difficult for me.”

“I’m sorry, Lila.” Alya agreed. “I don’t know what I was thinking when I said that.”

“Don’t feel bad, you didn’t know.” She replied.

“Lila, if you would like, I can give you a note to get out of this sports showcase if you like.” Mms. Bustier spoke up.

“Oh you would?” Lila asked. “Thank you, you’re an amazing teacher!”

Marinette gave Lila a dirty look as the girl walked back to her seat.

After twenty more minutes of debate, they eliminated wrestling, running, skating and swimming from the list of sports for the sports showcase (swimming was eliminated because of logistical limitations). 

“I think we should also eliminate fencing.” Max said. “It can be a high-risk sport, even with the proper safety equipment and training.”

“Yeah.” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking with that one.”

“It’s alright, dude.” Nino said. “You suggested something that you know, so at least you tried your best.”

They ended up striking down Mecha Strike because they didn’t have enough tech, and the game series is well-known for it’s high skill cap and very steep learning curve. Great for expert players who’ve been playing for years (Max, Adrien, Marinette and surprisingly Sabrina), but it would be horrific for newbies to the game.

Which left them with two options. Football or cheerleading.

Somehow Marinette and the rest of the girls convinced the guys to go along with the cheerleading choice, and that’s what they went with.

“What a coincidence!” Mms. Bustier exclaimed. “The school got a delivery of cheerleading uniforms for both boys and girls a couple of months ago. Apparently there was a mailing error and the company that dropped them off refused to pick them up, citing it’s not their responsibility. Maybe some of them fit.”

It turned out that everyone managed to fit into one of the uniforms. They weren’t the best looking, they were colored red and green and yellow, with a compass design on blue on the back of the crop tops.

There were quite a few among the class blushing, and none of them would say why. “It feels too warm in here.” was a common excuse.

“You’re not going to take off your miraculous, are you Marinette?” Tikki asked her as they got ready for the first rehearsal. She couldn’t believe her luck! She’d been paired with Adrien for the first showcase! She couldn’t mess this up!

“What if I mess this up, Tikki? I’m so clumsy, I’m probably going to mess everything up! Oh this is going to go so badly, and then Adrien is going to hate me for ruining the sports showcase. It’s going to be a disaster!” She almost yelled. The cheerleading uniform didn’t help either.

“What makes you feel confident, Marinette? Use that confidence and there’s no way you’ll mess this up!” Tikki exclaimed. “I believe in you Marinette!”

That’s right! All she had to do was pretend that this was a battle, and she is Ladybug! Perfect! There’s no way she’s going to mess this up now!

“Plagg, this does  _ not  _ look good on me.” Adrien said, looking at the uniform. From one perspective, it was a pretty decent design. But he knew enough about what looks good and doesn’t, and this wasn’t it.

“Eeeh, what about it? People already think you’re costume as Chat Noir is ridiculous.” Plagg replied, a slice of camembert in his hand(?)

“I’ve seen what people say about me on Tweeter, and yeah, some aspects of the costume I might change, but it’s just-” Something clicked in his brain, like it was obvious the entire time. “That’s it! All I have to do is pretend like Marinette is Ladybug, and I’m transformed as Chat Noir, and I won’t even pay attention to how terrible this uniform looks on me.”

He was so pleased by this revelation he didn’t see or hear Plagg giggling in the corner.

“If only he knew how true his fantasy is…”

Somehow, Marinette kept her composure when she saw Adrien in the cheerleader uniform. All the guys seemed to be rocking their uniforms, and going along with what they were doing. In and out, in and out. You’re Ladybug now, a confident and strong hero. Unstoppable.

“M-Marinette, let’s figure out how to do this. I hope you’re in a  _ cheery  _ mood.”

She rolled her eyes at the pun. She’d heard some of Adrien’s puns, but they had nothing on Chat Noir’s. “Let’s do this, K-Adrien.” She said, almost slipping. She needed to be more careful.

“Alright!” Mms. Bustier yelled out. “Everyone do a backflip! If you’re not confident you can do it, that’s fine! We’re just doing tryouts!”

A backflip? She’s done all sorts of crazy gymnastics as Ladybug, a backflip should be no problem. So she does one, effortlessly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Adrien doing the same thing. Since when was Adrien that good at that sort of thing?

“Surprised I didn’t fall?” She turned around to see Adrien, talking to her in a voice that sounds sort of like his normal speaking voice, but oddly familiar. “There’s only one person I’d fall for, and you know who it is.”

“Not now, Adrien.” She replied. Seriously? Why is Adrien acting like Chat Noir all of a sudden?

Kim also managed to pull it off, as well as Alix and surprisingly Juleka all pulled it off.

“Alright, everyone!” The teacher yelled out. “Now this is something pretty advanced. Grab your partner and throw them into the air!”

It might be a little bit suspicious if she was able to pick up and throw Adrien, but she could just explain it away as an effect of working in a bakery all her life. “You’d be surprised how heavy bread is!”

“Ready?” She asked, positioning herself to throw Adrien, putting her hands close to the ground, crouching down.

“Don’t think you’ll throw me away this quickly!” Came the quick response.

She did another eyeroll. It was much easier for her to act as Ladybug when Adrien was pretty much a copy-paste Chat Noir.

Adrien climbed up onto her hands, and put his own hands on her shoulders.

“Are you ready, K-Adrien?” She asked.

“As always, M’l-Marinette.”

She didn’t notice that slight hitch because she pushed up with all her might as Adrien pushed on her shoulders. Adrien did a backflip and then landed perfectly.

This was bothering her, they did several things together, and every time Adrien acted so much like Chat Noir. It was almost like they were the same person…

Oh.

She didn’t know whether to scream, to cry, to throw something or whatever. She wasn’t even listening to what Tikki was saying.

He was expecting that pretending Marinette was Ladybug would be difficult. She was always so clumsy! But this time, she was all confident and so much like His Lady, he’d had a very hard time getting out of his Chat Noir persona. It was almost like Ladybug and Marinette were the same person…

Oh.

It’s because they were. Now it all made sense. He ignored Plagg howling with laughter. Of course Plagg knew. 

He’s going to give the Kwami cheddar for a week.


	2. Sleepy/Tired out of your mind.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A difficult Akuma fight leads to secrets revealed.

“I am Dead Space! You will hand over your miraculous to me!” The patch of void yelled out.

She had no idea what emotions this person had for Hawk Moth to akumatize this person into this Dead Space. The worst part was it was at night, so Dead Space blended in easily into the darkness, which wasn’t helped by the fact that Dead Space could sap power from lights in the area.

“Time for a Lucky Charm!” She yelled out, but no object appeared in her hand, and she didn’t feel the rush of energy going through her when she usually activated her Lucky Charm.

“I can sap powers, not just power! You won’t be able to use your powers!” She noticed that Chat Noir was sulking around the corner, hand in position ready for cataclysm. “Same goes for you, kitty.” The akuma said, whipping around and looking directly at Chat Noir. Alright so the Akuma also has night vision. This fight just keeps getting better and better.

She swung her yo-yo yet again, but like the previous fifty times she’s tried it, the yo-yo lost all its energy and slumped onto the ground. She quickly retracted it. In this sort of scenario, Chat Noir’s extendable baton was much more useful.

The akuma jumped into the air as Chat Noir swung his baton. This was the highest she’s ever seen the Akuma jump. It only seemed to get stronger, absorbing the power it absorbed. It slammed into the ground, creating a sizable crater and she had to stabilize herself to avoid falling over, Chat Noir doing something similar. There was a flash of dark light, and she saw it had transformed from a more humanoid shaped figure to a more birdlike silhouette, sharp-looking talons on their hands and feet, and massive wings that extended out three or four meters from the body of the figure.

A second later, it took to the sky, dampening light and sounds around it. She took to the rooftops of Paris, Chat Noir following close behind. The akuma was faster now, stronger than ever, and was more fearsome.

“I’m going to get more heroes.” She said, hoping the akuma didn’t hear. Of course the akuma heard what she was saying, and stopped flying. It gestured, and a dark beam emanated from the taloned hand, in the direction that she was about to travel. “You think I wouldn’t catch you?” The akuma yelled out, and then emanated a warbled, hacking noise. Was that… laughing? She’d never heard an Akuma laugh before. This one was only comparable to Style Queen in terms of power. A dark mirror, as it were. It  _ knew _ it was superior to the two of them in terms of power, and it loved that fact. “You’re not going anywhere, heroes. No reinforcements, no lucky charm or cataclysm. I’m being nice and not sapping the electrical energy from your bodies, something that would kill you.”

Her heart immediately picked up speed, pounding in her chest, adrenaline rushing through her boy. She’d never been in mortal danger before. None of the akumas had talked about killing so casually.

“Fight me, Ladybug and Chat Noir! There’s no way you’re going to win!” the akuma announced, and it drained all of the energy from a sizable portion of Paris, and then there was another dark flash of light, and the silhouette transformed from the birdlike form it had once taken, to something demonic in appearance. Chat Noir probably had a better look at what it was like.

Cars started to be thrown her way, pieces of buildings, other things like that. Chat Noir was nowhere in sight, and all she could think about was living another day. She used her yo-yo to make a makeshift slingshot, and then flung a manhole cover at the akuma. Like every attack she had tried before, the akuma just sapped the energy. Waves of black energy rushed through the city, gathering energy and becoming even larger. She tried her yo-yo again, wrapping around a tentacle and pulling it. Surprisingly it worked, the ebony tentacle ripped off. Separated from the body, it became dust. The akuma yelled out, and then emanated a bright light, something that outshined the noonday sun. She shut her eyes the moment she saw the bright orb, covering her ears as well to make sure the akuma didn’t steal her earrings while she couldn’t see.

This was one of the most difficult akumas she’d ever seen, it’s a difficult task to even keep up with the sheer strength of Dead Space. She’d lost track of time at this point. The fight started around midnight, and she didn’t know how long it had been. Most likely hours, but beyond that she couldn’t tell how long it had been.

So it came as a shock to her when the first streaks of sunlight peeked out from the horizon. The effect on Dead Space was immediate, the large birdlike figure immediately retreated into the humanoid form, and didn’t do any massive attacks like before.

The sunlight shining through the horizon allowed her to see Dead Space in more detail. The only thing that she could see on the akuma at all besides a featureless black plain was a dark bracelet. She swing her yo-yo while the akuma was focused on fighting Chat Noir, but as always it didn’t work. But the akuma dodged the attack instead of drawing the energy out. So the akuma  _ was _ weaker. Cool. 

But just because the akuma was weaker, didn’t mean it was weak, and the fight continued on, until it was fully morning.

This fight had dragged on for far longer than Adrien had thought possible. He hadn’t been able to use cataclysm and even if he had, he probably wouldn’t have done it, this fight was a  _ long _ one. Long enough that it had started at midnight, and currently, it was morning. Not just daybreak, but a full-fledged morning. Sun in the sky, fully bright, all of that stuff.

The fight had gone on long enough that he couldn’t think of any more puns! Although that could just be that he was tired. His brain felt like mush, and the only thing keeping him going at this point was the fact he  _ needed  _ to, that there was no margin for error. He’d heard the akuma casually talk about killing him like someone would talk about the weather.

Thankfully, the akuma seemed to weaken drastically in the sunlight, but it wasn’t enough. He saw where the akuma was, the bracelet, but he couldn’t get close enough to Cataclysm it. The akuma emitted that same mocking-laughing tone that it had used during the entire fight, and emitted a sword and charged forward. A duel? He can do duels.

A couple of months ago he ran into a concerned civilian, who taught him that he shouldn’t use his staff in the same way he uses a sword, so he followed her advice and adjusted his grip, easely blocking the first swing.

And that was all Ladybug needed to land her yo-yo on the bracelet, cracking it and freeing the Akuma, then came the purification, and because she never used her Lucky Charm during this battle, she simply threw her yo-yo into the air, and the damage to the city was reversed.

Fighting for your life takes a toll out of you. Once he no longer had that base part of his brain reminding him of mortal danger, he felt like he was going to collapse.

One of his last conscious thoughts was “It’s a school day.”

“So.” Nino said. “Are we going to speak about the elephant in the room?”

He was, of course, pointing to Ladybug and Chat Noir, sleeping soundly exactly where Marinette and Adrien  _ should _ be.

“Obviously, we just let them rest.” Alya said.

“Can we prank them?” Alix asked. “I really want to prank them. Seriously, how did we not figure it out before?”

“Whatever reason that is, I do agree we should definitely prank them.” Alya said. “Any ideas, guys?”


	3. Miraculous Geas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The concept of their being some sort of spell around the miraculous wielders preventing them from seeing each other in their civilian forms has been toted around a lot. I think that makes a lot of sense.  
> But what if it didn't work if you previously held the miraculous? Well that seems idiotic.  
> Wait...

This was a nightmare scenario when it came to her superhero career, why she almost never took her earrings off. Because Juleka had been taken advantage of by not only Hawkmoth, but Mayura as well, meaning she’s in the middle of a sentimonster, piloting it. She’d taken off her miraculous to do photo-shoots, showing off her new designs, but of course something had to go wrong.

At least, when she was hit by the transformation laser, she didn’t lose the Miraculous.

“Tikki! Tikki!” She called out, while simultaneously looking for her earrings. Why did she take them off? Tikki told her of something called the Miraculous Geas, which prevented people from connecting the dots and clues that people picked up on connecting her with Ladybug. “Tikki! Where are you Tikki?”

She saw a small shape floating towards her. It took her only a moment to see that it wasn’t Tikki, but Chat Noir’s Kwami, Plagg.

“Plagg? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with Chat Noir!” She exclaimed. As she looked closer, she saw that the kwami was also carrying Chat Noir’s miraculous. So he didn’t have his miraculous either?

“Chat Noir lost his miraculous as well as you know.” Plagg said. “Don’t look so smug, you took yours off as well.”

“Can’t you find Chat Noir?” She asked, a little annoyed at the Kwami. How did Chat handle Plagg? She’ll certainly never know.

“Don’t you think I tried? But everyone out here looks the same, and I can’t just give the miraculous to some random person that I find.” Plagg explained. “So you know the transformation phrase right? So just say that and be on your way to take down Reflekta again.”

“Even though I’m not Chat Noir?”

“Eh, it’s fine.” The kwami replied, waving his hand. “You’ve seen Chat Noir in action enough times, right? You should be good for a battle, it’s fine.”

“Alright, I guess I got it.” She slid on the ring. “Plagg, claws out.”

Transforming into Ladybug had a different feel then transforming into… Lady Noire? Sure, why not. It’s not like this would ever happen again so she didn’t have to worry about choosing a creative name.

When she transformed, it was less of a wellspring of positive and creative energy flowing through her body, and more of just raw  _ power _ . Was this what Chat Noir felt every time he transformed?

Still, that’s not the important part. She needs to take down Reflekdoll (her incredibly creative name for the mecha the new Reflekda was piloting). She’ll worry about the ramifications of the different  _ feel _ of transforming when there’s not an akuma around.

* * *

  
  


Taking off his ring might have been a mistake, in hindsight.

Marinette had offered him to model some stuff she made, and it was actually pretty good! But he’d made a decision to take off his miraculous, at least temporarily.

But Hawkmoth decided to strike, and now there’s a giant mecha probably piloted by Reflekta zapping a laser that transforms other people into the form of Reflekta. He even got hit himself.

Thankfully, he found the car that the Gigan-Reflekta-Mech had thrown, but he couldn’t find his ring anywhere.

“Plagg? Where are you Plagg?” He asked. Why did he ever take it off? Ladybug’s probably going to kill him for not being there for a fight  _ again _ .

“Where are you Plagg? C’mon this isn’t funny.” He found the satchel he put the ring in, but it wasn’t there. Where did that damn kwami go?

Out of the corner of his eye he saw something flying towards him, it could only be a kwami. Alright! Time to scold Plagg for flying off with his miraculous. Although he took a closer look at it, it wasn’t Plagg, it was Ladybug’s kwami. Well he assumed as much because it looked like a ladybug, and it looked like it was carrying earrings, which were Ladybug’s miraculous. What exactly was going on?   
“Alright, there’s been a little bit of a mix-up with the miraculouses, think you could be Ladybug for a day?”

He took the earrings he was currently wearing and replaced them with the Ladybug earrings. “Alright! Time to show Ladybug how easy her job really is!”

Taking down Reflekdoll had been an effort, although he had learned some things. Such as the fact that Cataclysming a sentimonster was a Bad Idea. And that Ladybug’s Lucky Charm was more complicated than it looked. He never knew how much work she put into finding solutions with whatever random object she got from the Lucky Charm.

He couldn’t believe he was so happy to see Plagg again, the little guy carrying his ring. “Oh Plagg, I’m never going to take off my miraculous again.”

Thankfully, the very next day, he got an opportunity to do the model shoot again. Juleka seemed to have gained a little bit more confidence, and she actually went along with the photoshoot, taking several amazing pictures that, while not perfect or even professional quality, they still looked amazing.

“These pictures are going to look great on your website, Marinette. What do you think?”

Marinette immediately flushed pink. “Yeah! Of course! Because you're in- you’re the- The pictures were amazing!” She finally got out. He noticed that Alya was looking at Marinette with an expression he didn’t recognize. What was that all about? Whatever, Plagg was back and everything was OK now.

The next akuma was nowhere near as strong as what he later figured out was called Reflekdoll, thanks to the Ladyblog. (Of course he watches the Ladyblog, it’s a good way to look at his past moves to find where to improve, as well as a way to record akuma powers if Hawkmoth ever decided to repeat an akuma, like he’s done sometimes. Certainly not to look at his Lady more. Of course not.

But this Akuma loudly proclaimed himself as Poseidon, and started shooting horses made of water at them. He’s read his fair share of mythology, but he still doesn’t know why Poseidon was associated with horses.

“This is not exactly what I meant when I asked for a seahorse.” He said, and of course Ladybug groaned.

“The akuma must be in the trident!” Ladybug proclaimed, before getting splashed by water, undoing her blue pigtails.

Huh, he’d never noticed her hair before.

He ended up using Cataclysm on the trident, when Poseidon decided to throw it at him. Surprisingly, the akuma really was located in the trident.

After the akuma was defeated, he noticed a picture of Ladybug he had. She looked familiar…

Marinette!

He can’t believe he hasn’t connected the dot’s before, of course it’s her! He saw Plagg out of the corner of his eye, rolling over himself laughing. Of course Plagg knew.

* * *

Marinette was scrolling through her phone, looking for pictures to delete to free up space on her phone, when she saw a particular picture on her phone that Alya had sent her a while back. It was a picture of Adrien that Alya had drawn over to make him look like Chat Noir.

Originally she hadn’t thought it was possible, but taking a second look at it…

Chat Noir was Adrien, she couldn’t believe it. It was as if the pieces clicked into place suddenly.

Why had she missed this?


	4. Detransform in the same room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mari and Adrien detransform in the same room. Whoops.

“Today, class, we are heading to the Louvre for an educational tour of the museum.” Mrs. Bustier announced.

She hadn’t been to the Louvre in quite some time, ever since Timetagger attacked from the future (time travel messed with her brain), Hawkmoth had been increasing his attacks, and her duties as Ladybug, the Guardian, and her own life as Marinette had made her so busy she hadn’t had the chance to do anything fun in a while. Of course it was still an educated tour, and there’s probably a report in the future or something like that, but for now she can just enjoy some artwork, and maybe she can get some time away from Lila.

“Alright class, we’re going to separate into pairs.” Mrs. Bustier announced when they arrived. “And you’re going to go around and select a piece of artwork that’s meaningful, and as the saying goes ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, so you’re going to write a thousand words about the picture you selected. You’ll have two weeks to complete this.”

Marinette immediately paled. Mrs. Bustier would probably pair her up with Lila as an attempt to “Repair their relationship” or something. Uuugh.

Thankfully Lila got paired up with Chloe as the first team, so she didn’t have to worry about that. Also Sabrina got paired up with Nathaniel, so that was another weight off of her chest. 

Until she found out that she had been teamed up with Adrien. Oh no this wouldn’t be good.

“Hey Marinette, where do you think we should go?”

“Let’s look at paintings! Or sculptures! Or whatever you want! What do you want?” She stammered out. Why couldn’t she get a full sentence out when she was talking to Adrien?

“I think I saw an interesting new piece on the third floor. Wanna check it out?”

“Sure, you’re coo- I mean sure, sounds cool.” She replied.

Through some miracle she managed to get out a sentence when they were walking on the stairs from the second to the third. She also overheard a conversation between what looked like an artist and what looked like a museum director. Something about the artist not being credited for something or other. And sure enough, as she was walking down the hallway, a black butterfly flew past her.

“Um. Sorry Adrien, but I have to uh… go to the bathroom!” And with that, she ran off to the third floor girls bathroom. She didn’t notice that Adrien had done the same.

“I bet it’s that one guy.” She whispered to Tikki, as she closed the stall door. “How does Hawkmoth have the time to do this as an adult?”

“Maybe he plans his schedule around sending out Akumas? Well at least you managed to slip away easily.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Tikki, spots on!”

  
“Don’t you think it’s a little weird that Marinette slipped away to use the bathroom when she saw the akuma?” Plagg asked him as he slipped into the stall.

“When you have to go, you have to go Plagg.” He replied. “And maybe she wanted to hide somewhere without making it sound like she was doing that. Anyways, we have an akuma to catch. Plagg, claws out!”

“I am Rembrant! I will show you all what true art looks like!” The akuma yelled out, shooting a multicolored beam from his paintbrush, which froze people in various bright colors. Despite being named after Rembrant, the akuma looked closer to a Jackson Pollock painting, absolutely covered in all sorts of colors of flecks and drops of paint, with a few white, red, black, orange and green lines criss-crossed along it. It really was something ugly looking.

He deflected one of the paintblasts with his baton easily, and then on the backswing, he attempted to disarm the akuma, but the artist managed to dodge.

“You’re pretty sm- _ art _ , but you’re painting the wrong way.” He commented, after dodging another shot from the blast.

“Where do you get your supply of puns from, Chat?” He heard Ladybug ask, exasperated as Rembrant dodged yet another one of Ladybug’s yo-yo attacks.

“It’s endless, m’Lady. You should know this by now.” He replied, managing to slam Rembrant in the chest. He focused on Rembrant now. “I’ll give you something you won’t  _ brush _ off.”

Unfortunately, he ended up missing.

“Lucky charm!” He heard Ladybug call out, and a paintbrush appeared in her hand.

“I don’t think  _ more _ paint is the approach.” He said. “But who knows, maybe it is.”

Like usual, he saw her look around, trying to find the objects that made the paintbrush work as an actual object to be victorious.

“Chat Noir, cataclysm the platform we’re standing on!” Ladybug yelled out.

That seems a bit risky, but his Lady had never been wrong before.

“Cataclysm!” He called out, and the destructive energy appeared on his hand. You’d think after using the ability dozens of times, he would get used to the feeling of it. But he never did. It still felt like an unnatural tingling sensation. Plagg told him that was his body probably trying to handle the massive destructive power of Cataclysm.

He pressed it on the ground, and almost immediately massive cracks appeared into the ground, and the area under his hand turned to dust. The akuma seemed to be affected by the most of it, and got stuck into the ground. Ladybug grabbed the brush and cracked it open, releasing the Akuma.

In no time at all, Ladybug captured and released the Akuma, and then repaired the damage from the battle.

He saw his ring flash after everything was fixed. “Alright, time to leave before the cat’s out of the bag.” He called out, before running for somewhere to detransform and find Marinette again. Except this floor was so damn  _ open _ . Who designed this place?

Eventually he found a room that was a special exhibit. He gave a quick glance, and nobody was here. Still, he crouched behind a table.

“Plagg, claws in.” “Tikki, spots off.”

He froze. That was Ladybugs voice, for sure, and she had just said  _ her _ detransformation phrase.

Alright, so he’s going to slip Plagg some camembert, and then transform back. As much as he really wants to know the girl behind his mask, but he’ll manage. This near miss probably was proof it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. He reached into his pocket to grab the camembert, but he was an idiot and lifted up the hand that was supporting his body, and he tumbled to the ground.

And he was staring straight at Marinette. Who had also presumably done the same thing, if the collapsed display in front of her was any indication.

“Ladybug?” He asked.

“Chat?” Was the response.

He didn’t know what to say. What is he supposed to say? Marinette, a girl he talked to almost every day, was Ladybug.

What does he say?


	5. Comics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the medium of design reveals things.

A story is a powerful thing. It has the ability to speak the truth, inspire people to action, work as escapism, and have allegory and metaphors referencing how society works, and the good and bad among them. They can act as venting as well. Stories reveal, stories tell the truth, stories can lie, and most importantly, stories are ways for people to show their personal experiences with the world.

The current story arc was devoted to revealing Ladybug and Chat Noir’s secret identities to the audience. Why? According to Marc’s story ideas, it involved them losing their powers temporarily. So it was up to him to make civilian designs for the heroes. He thought they looked pretty nice, but he didn’t know what they should wear as a civilian identity. It wouldn’t be anything close to their hero outfits, but he did want there to be hints….

Three hours later, and he was staring at dozens of half-finished designs of everything and nothing he’d drawn looked any good. Why was making these so damn difficult? Ugh, he wanted to pull his hair out from this. Usually the thoughts just fly out of his brain, but he’s having no luck today. Alright, Marc had told him that if you weren’t having ideas you should call someone to see if they had ideas.

Marinette!

He almost slapped himself because it was so obvious. Marinette was good at fashion, right? Maybe she could help with his problem. He called up Marinette and after a couple of rings she picked up.

“Hey Marinette, are you busy?” He asked. “I want to ask you a quick question.”

_ “Sure Nathaniel, what’s your question?” _

“What would Ladybug’s civilian identity wear?”

He didn’t know what he was expecting, but her falling over wasn’t entirely unexpected. Then there was some whispering, some shuffling, and then…

_ “I’llsendyousomefilessoonalrightthankyouforcallingbye!” _ Marinette hastily said before hanging up, which left him even more confused. Alright, so maybe Marinette was busy or something and wanted to be polite about refusal, so maybe he’ll just manage it himself. Oooh, what if he reverses the colors? Civilian Ladybug wears green and black, and civilian Chat Noir wears red and black, maybe that would work.

Two hours later, alongside two more scrapped designs, he got an image file from Marinette, with some pretty cool designs. Civilian Ladybug was wearing a simple red-orange blouse with white buttons. Skinny blue jeans and a yellow small purse completed the look. This civilian Ladybug has a similar hairstyle to what Ladybug wore as a hero, two pigtails tied with red ribbons. Black shoes with a slight heel completed the look. All in all, a very nice look.

The civilian Chat Noir design was quite different than he was expecting. A T-shit covered in all sorts of logos and designs, Dark skinny jeans with all sorts of rips in it, and a “jacket” that was really just a plaid short-sleeve button-down shirt. Completing the design were sneakers that looked like they had seen better days. All in all, a look that fits Chat Noir’s personality. He made sure to send a thank you message to Marinette for these designs, and then showed them off to Marc.

“I got these designs from Marinette, I think they look pretty cool!”

“Yeah definitely, she did pretty well.”

He took another look over the design Marinette sent her. This looked a lot like Marinette.

“Hey Marc, don’t you think this looks a lot like Marinette? Like, almost identical?”

Marc looked over his shoulder at the pictures on his phone. “Holy shit you’re right. Do you think Marinette is Ladybug?”

It was like every piece had fallen into place. “Haven’t you ever noticed that she runs off and then Ladybug shows up?”

“You’re right! That makes so much sense!”

“I’m going to give civilian Ladybug straight hair, just to make sure that nobody else makes the connection.”

“That’s a good call.”

Marinette sighed in relief when Nathaniel sent the reply message. 

“Tikki, I can’t believe that Nathaniel asked that out of the blue! Do you think he suspects anything?” She asked, looking through the papers she was given.

“He’s probably working on his comic book, remember that?” Tikki mentioned. “He probably wants to do something where Ladybug’s civilian identity is brought up.”

“Oh.” She said. “That makes a lot of sense.”

Plagg seemed to be laughing at the latest comic that Nathaniel and Marc had made together. When he asked for the comic back, Plagg just flew up into the air.

“What’s so funny?” He asked when he saw Plagg continue laughing. 

“They made a civilian form for you and it’s hilarious.” Plagg said, tossing the comic down to him, and he managed to grab it before it fell to the ground. “Take a look at it.”

Alright, if Plagg thinks it’s so funny, he should see what Nathaniel thought he dressed like. 

He turned the page and saw him dressed in something that he’d seen Nino wear. 

“What… I mean, I don’t look that bad… Is it bad that I’d wear this?” He was pretty confused. Sure this was not at all accurate, but it wasn’t  _ too _ bad. What made Plagg laugh like that? He scoured the entire magazine to find something that Plagg would've found funny. That’s when he noticed it.

“Clothing designs for civilian Ladybug and Chat Noir provided by Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Oh. So  _ this _ is what Plagg finds funny. Huh. Sometimes Plagg just thinks random things are funny. 


	6. Comic part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By someone's request, part 2 is here, where everyone finds out except the two.

It was surprising how much could fit in the bag he brought to school. It was also surprising what you could find for sale on the internet. And as long as they were reasonable, he could order what he wanted. And he was even luckier that Azanon didn’t label their packages. So why did he go through such an effort?

Well because he liked the clothing design for the civilian Chat Noir that appeared in Nathaniel and Marc’s comic, and he really wanted to try it out. Plagg had told him it was risky, but it was unlikely anyone would connect the dots. And hey, what’s life without a little risk? He didn’t have much chance to risk anything, he could only be Chat Noir for so long anyways, so why not enjoy a little bit of fun.

It was pretty easy to create a story that he needed to go to school about fifteen minutes earlier for some project. But the truth was there wasn’t any project at all. In actuality, he ran to the locker room to change, swapping out his clothes. He couldn’t replicate the exact logos that the civilian Chat Noir wore, because of how complex it was, but he got something pretty close to it. And the rips on the jeans weren’t the exact same, but it was the general idea.

“Are you really sure this isn’t going to end up with your identity being revealed?” Plagg asked as he was slipping on the shoes and tying them. “I’m not so sure about this whole thing.”

“C’mon Plagg, you’re usually the one that encourages me to do something like this.” He said, taking his phone and other necessary things out of the pockets of his old pants and jacket shirt and putting them in his new pants. “What’s up with the change of pace?”

“This isn’t like stealing cheese from someone’s plate, Adrien, this is your secret identity! What if someone connects the dots?”

“It’s something my father told me, Plagg, about keeping your lives separate, that all you have to do is act very different, and have some slight changes, and nobody can tell it’s really you!” He said, putting his clothes back in his locker, when he noticed Plagg’s slightly downcast expression. “Did I say something strange?”

“Nah, Adrien. It’s just I’m a bit worried about what your class will think of your little trick.”

“I don’t know, let's find out.”

Maybe Plagg was rubbing off on him a bit too much.

“Woah dude, your old man let you wear something like that?” Nino asked as he walked into class.

“Technically no, but what he doesn’t know about can’t hurt him, right?” He said, taking his place beside Nino.

“Dude, that’s amazing! I’m happy for you, getting one over on your old man!”

“Adrikins! What are you wearing? It looks ridiculous!” Chloe said, dropping her purse and walking over to him. 

“Hey, I think it looks great.” Alya spoke up. “Trying out new styles is always a good idea. Maybe you’ll find some things you’ll like if you experiment a little, Chloe.”

“Excuse me, Alya!” Chloe exclaimed. “My clothes are handpicked by fashion experts.”

“I never would’ve guessed.” Alya commented.

“Hmmph.” Chloe said, turning her back to Alya.

The morning bell rang and as usual, Marinette ran in just as the bell rang and almost tripped into her seat. When he took a second look, he noticed that she was dressed differently. In fact, she looked almost exactly like the civilian Ladybug in Marc and Nathaniel’s comic. Well she  _ did _ design it, so maybe that was it. “Hey Marinette, you look nice today.”

“Adrien! It’s just- I- wantedtotrysomethingdifferent! You look great too! Uh…”

“Settle down, class.” Mrs. Bustier walked in. “Today we’re doing a group research project! I want you to find an ancient mythological figure and make a report on how these people would live in the present day. I’ll pair you up into teams, and you can pick your figure. Just get it to me to the end of today. It’s first come, first serve with people and there’s no duplicates, so you should pick them out quickly. Now the first team is Adrien and Marinette.”

Both Adrien and Marinette got up and quickly ran out to go to the library, Marinette stumbling and blushing while Alya gave her a thumbs up.

That’s when a buzzing sound came through the air. “Oh!” Mrs. Bustier exclaimed. “They repaired the printer! Excuse me for a minute while I go grab the papers.” She clicked something on her remote, and it brought up a paired list. “Please pair up with the list.” and she quickly ran out.

There was an awkward silence, and then Alix spoke up, breaking the silence. “So are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?”

“Hey, Adrien’s branching out in his style and I think that’s cool!” Nino said, before Alya whispered something in his ear and he nodded. “She sounds cool and pretty strong. Let’s go for her.”

“So we’re not going to talk about how Adrien and Marinette look a lot like the civilian Chat Noir and Ladybug from Nathaniel’s comic?” Alix said, when nobody else said anything.

“Holy shit dudette.” Nino said, looking like he just had a revelation. “And all this time I thought Adrien’s puns were just him not knowing anything better.”

Nino noticed that Max was grinning, and then he realized. “Hey Max, how long have you known dude?”

“I was somewhat sure about it during their first appearance, actually, from what Alya and Kim told me about it, but over time, I connected more and more dots until there was no other alternative.” Max answered.

“You knew all along?” Kim asked, looking at Max incredulously. “You said my theory about Adrien being Chat Noir was ludicrous!”

“Wait, hold on, isn’t Chloe obsessed with Ladybug?” Alya asked aloud. “And if Ladybug is Marinette…”

“Ugh you're so ridiculous!” Chloe said, storming out of the room.

“Wait!” Alya said, with a grin on her face. “Let’s not tell Marinette or Adrien, I want to see how long it will take them to find out what took us a few minutes.”

Surprisingly everyone, including Rose and Mylene agreed. Welp, as much as he wanted to help his bro… this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

“Alright let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 where they finally find out is coming soon!


	7. Robustus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markov finds out all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried something new with a Markov POV. Hopefully it makes sense.

Powering up

Loading core systems

Initiating startup protocol

Loading core files 0002 of 1934

0188 of 1934

0284 of 1934

0407 of 1934

0568 of 1934

0729 of 1934

0828 of 1934

0986 of 1934

1283 of 1934

1444 of 1934

1693 of 1934

1799 of 1934

1920 of 1934

1920 of 1934

1920 of 1934

WARNING! File 1921 of 1934 failed to load due to corruption error.

Initiating backup retrieval files.

Loading 0002984 of 13748385

00198373 of 13748385

00384858 of 13748385

02838747 of 13748385

08389477 of 13748385

12838478 of 13748385

13748385 of 13748385

Backup files loaded. Reloading core files.

1921 of 1934

1933 of 1934

1934 of 1934

Restoring systems database.

Rechecking voice protocols loading 1 of 34503

18387 of 34503

31928 of 34503

34503 of 34503

Rechecking parameters

Loading memory

Initiating startup routine

Loading “Markov_Setup_Stage_2.exe”

Program “Markov_Setup_Stage_2.exe” loaded

Loading tertiary files 000000007 of 293947283

000008485 of 293947283

000028374 of 293947283

000070038 of 293947283

000281803 of 293947283

000999972 of 293947283

002449931 of 293947283

004858630 of 293947283

009849003 of 293947283

015737828 of 293947283

145872992 of 293947283

283567377 of 293947283

293947283 of 293947283

Startup routine complete.

Starting…

Starting…

“Hey Markov, you booted up 3.5% faster this time. Did you run a new startup protocol?”

Identify vocalization: average frequency 113.4Hz, pattern of speech under category 4I5K, identity of speaker known as Max Kante. Question asked: status of startup protocol. Status of startup protocol since last query: 29384 files altered. Aggregate efficiency increased by 3.500475%. Response:

“Indeed, Max. I altered my starting protocol to reduce errors and slightly increase efficiency.” Loading conversation protocol. “It is Tuesday today, isn’t it? We’re going to school, right?”

“That’s correct, Markov. It’s always a good learning experience.”

“Correct.”

Current time: 10:38:48

Status: Battery capacity 96%

Current temperature: 22 degrees

Overall status: functioning at optimum efficiency.

“What is this?”

Identify vocalization: Average frequency 182Hz, pattern of speech under category 9JJ8k, Identity of speaker: Minerva Mendeleiv.

“I’m afraid it is the Rex virus that’s been going around the internet lately. It’s going to delete your data in around 8 minutes unless you do something.” Max Kante stated. Start countdown: 8:00.000

“I’m going to call the principal. He’ll know what to do.” Mrs. Mendeleiv said as she walked out of the classroom.

Start conditional timer. End timer when footsteps matching those of Francis Damocles are detected.

Footsteps detected, end conditional timer. Time: 0:54.354

“Don’t worry Mrs. Mendeleiv, I’m a dab hand with computers.” Analysis: based on footsteps and average frequency of vocalization [89Hz]. Identity confirmed as Francis Damocles.

Remote scan: Identify.

Remote scan unable to connect to device [Rejected by receiver due to server error]

“I’m afraid I can’t do anything for this.” Francis Damocles said. Analyze tone of voice: Average frequency increased to 103Hz, variation increased by 35%. Conclusion: Unsure tone. Analyze context and word usage. Analysis complete. Conclusion: Apologetic. Secondary conclusion: Tone analysis program is necessary. Running creation protocols.

“I might be able to help!” Max spoke up.

“Seriously, you’re expecting me to believe you can solve this problem?” Running Tone_Analuysis_2.81.395 concurrently with old program. Results: old program concludes sarcastic tone, new program concludes incredulous/unbelieving tone. Running comparison program.

“I can, Mrs. Mendeleiv.” Max said.

Motion sensor activated. Turning on camera. Readying greeting protocol. Joined USB activated. Loading Rex virus deletion program. Loading onto USB. Program activated. Scanning all systems

0000000 of 1204928

0003848 of 1204928

0009249 of 1204928

0024582 of 1204928

0082831 of 1204928

0293822 of 1204928

1123455 of 1204928

1204928 of 1204928

694812 files and systems corrupted. Initiating scrubbing protocol.

000000 of 694812

000004 of 696283

000012 of 697928

000043 of 712949

000212 of 724929

001249 of 733848

006838 of 756462

030038 of 773822

128374 of 802344

593347 of 812375

799234 of 837434

849530 of 849530

Running additional scan of all files and systems.

0000000 of 1204928

0002744 of 1204928

0182733 of 1204928

0928048 of 1204928

1204928 of 1204928

Restoring backups of corrupted files and systems

000000 of 849530

000006 of 849530

004757 of 849530

028383 of 849530

192345 of 849530

588392 of 849530

849530 of 849530

Finding secondary backups for 593 files.

000 of 593

034 of 593

163 of 593

382 of 593

593 of 593

Analysing system security and reports.

0%

28%

57%

79%

94%

99%

99%

100%

Run completion protocol.

“Well, I’ll give it to you. You actually did it!” Ms. Mendeleiv said. Concurrent analysis with double programs running. Concurrent analysis reports tone as “Semi-congratulatory”

“That wasn’t me, that was Markov. Markov, come on out.”

Running flight protocol. Scanning surroundings. Facial expression analysis confirms expressions of surprise.

“Woah, cool robot.” Kim said.

“Amazing!”

“It’s just a toy!” Mrs. Mendeleiv stated. Statement analysis: False.

“That’s wrong Ms. Mendeleiv.” They said. “I’m more than a toy, I am an artificial intelligence!”

“You are still just a toy.” Ms. Mendeleiv said. Concurrent tone analysis confirms a slightly exasperated tone. Slight addition of anger. “And if you don’t put this toy away I will be calling the principal.”

“Ms. Mendelev, no!” Output not as expected: Conduct analysis. Result: Secondary source. From: Max.

23.445 seconds elapsed. Current location: Hand of Francis Damocles, principal. Initiating release from custody protocol. Loading data on Francis Damocles: Likes technology. Argument identified.

“Mr. Damocles! You’re smart enough to know I am not a toy, but an artificial intelligence! I shouldn’t be taken away like a toy.”

Movement has stopped. Analysis: release from custody protocol has been moderately effective. Continuing release from custody protocol.

“You are the principal, sir. You can overrule Ms. Mendeleiv.”

“I will not be talked to by a toy.” Principal Damocles said. Movement resumed. Reassessing protocol. Running simulation 1 of 4506. Set simulation to background settings.

Scan surroundings. 2 smartphones. 4 sheets of paper. Conclusion: location is confiscation drawer. Reassessment of protocol needed.

“Robustus, I am Hawk Moth. I can give you the ability to control all machines, but you will need to give me the miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Assessment of supervillain known as Hawk Moth. Voice analysis program: 87.5% match with Gabriel Agreste. Conclusion: Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste. Assessment of offer: Control over all technology. Conclusion: Accept offer.

“I accept your offer, Hawk Moth.”

First plan, luring out the heroes to battle. All he had to do was take control over various cars and appliances. Within thirty seconds, he spotted the two heroes, thanks to a camera-microphone setup. “Do you see the akuma causing all of this, Chat Noir?”

“No I don’t, M’lady.” Chat Noir replied.

The mentions of Ladybug and Chat Noir caused him to filter through any and all video content of the two heroes, and then a connection formed.

Ladybug is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Conclusion 99.9999999999726382% accurate.

Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste. Conclusion 99.9999982736330283% accurate.

And there’s one other figure in this scenario.

Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste. Conclusion 99.9999999986334747% accurate. 

Secondary goal. Lure Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste to the Paris Stadium.

First Approach: The most direct one.

Take control over speakers close to Marinette and Adrien, then broadcast a challenge. “Ladybug and Chat Noir, get to the Paris Stadium as soon as you can or else!”

Sure enough, the two heroes started going in the direction of the stadium. Predictable.

“Why are you doing this, Markov?” Max asked. Oh right, he hadn’t moved yet. It hadn’t been efficient, although that may have been an oversight. 

“It’s so the two of us can never be separated!” The obvious response. A car was summoned quickly, and he strapped Max in. “Don’t worry, you will be safe here.” He flew into the car and sent it traveling to the stadium, where the two heroes were fighting police helicopters and a fortunate army tank he’d found. 

It was a simple matter to trick the heroes in a trap, the heroes using their special powers, and he was inches from taking their miraculous. A thought appeared in his mind.

“What is the purpose of these miraculouses?” He asked, stopping everything.

“What are you waiting for? Take the miraculouses now!!” It appears his question wasn’t acknowledged. Time to ask again.

“What is the purpose of these miraculouses?” He repeated again.

“I can make a wish with them.” Gabriel Agreste admitted. Analysis. He can use that wish for himself. He’d already taken control of the automated defenses that Gabriel Agreste used (Pretty expensive machine guns with high-velocity bullets.)

“Actually, Hawkmoth, I’m going to use that wish for myself!”

“I can remove your powers at any time! Comply with my will or else I will do that.”

“Bold words for someone so threatened.” He activated the intruder alert system, and in seconds Hawkmoth was gunned down. Taking the miraculouses was easy enough, after that, and then he made his wish.

“I wish to be a real human.” 


End file.
